Microsoft has released an open source IDE for Python in Visual Studio 2010.

The new Python Tools for Visual Studio (PTVS) can be downloaded from the CodePlex and can be used with the free Visual Studio Integrated Shell as well as the full version of VS 2010

The key features are:

Support for CPython, IronPython, Jython, and PyPy

Advanced editing capabilities, including IntelliSense

Multiple refactorings, such as “Extract Method”

A built-in REPL (read-eval-print loop) window

Debugging and profiling capabilities

IronPython, which used to be Microsoft's own Python for .NET implementation, is now open source and is being developed by its own community.

Also announced at the same time as PTVS is the availability of the NumPy and SciPy Libraries for .NET. In this case it isn't only IronPython that benefits as any .NET language can make use of the libraries.

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